It was just one inning, but symbolically, it was crucial for Drew Storen. You could see the determination, focus and drive on the face of Storen these first few days during pregame warmups and you knew whenever his first game arrived it would be important for many reasons. Erasing the memory but learning from the experience of Oct. 12 in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals drives Storen, even though it's not something that is talked about every day. But Ryan Zimmerman...

The Nationals are red-hot to start the 2013 season. So is their hitting coach. The heater in the Nationals' tunnel serves an important purpose on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 45 degrees and dropped quickly. But for Rick Eckstein, the propane heater nearly did more harm than good. "He went down there and started talking to one of the hitters that was sitting close to the fire, and he was standing close to the fire," manager Davey Johnson said, a smile on his face after...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It could take hours to dissect all of the moments and decisions that helped to shape the Orioles' 8-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at Tropicana Field. We don't have that kind of time, so let's just get to the highlights. Wondering why Wei-Yin Chen was removed from the game after 5 2/3 innings and 84 pitches? "It was a good first start for him," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was a little up early but he made some adjustments and got the ball down and went...

What a wild game. What a bad ending for the Orioles. Matt Joyce hit a solo homer off Tommy Hunter leading off the last of the ninth as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 8-7 to leave both clubs 1-1. Joyce entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh and had a key bunt single then. Last year, the Orioles were an AL-best 14-2 when the game was tied after eight innings. They were also 29-9 in one-run games but now are 0-1 in 2013. The Orioles bullpen allowed six runs in this game as the O's blew...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Well, that escalated quickly. Wei-Yin Chen left tonight's game after giving up a two-out RBI single to Ben Zobrist in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Orioles led 4-1, and Luis Ayala was called upon to get the final out. He got it, but not before Evan Longoria singled and Shelley Duncan mashed a three-run homer to left field. Orioles 4, Rays 4. Duncan hit into a double play and struck out against Chen, who's charged with two runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings,...

Bryce Harper got called out of the dugout by the Nationals Park crowd on opening day, getting a curtain call following his second homer of the ballgame. Tonight, Gio Gonzalez was the one to get the curtain call, and not for something he did while on the mound. The Nationals left-hander took a first-pitch Kevin Slowey curveball into the bleachers in left field for his second career home run. The blast came with one out in the fifth and gave the Nats a 1-0 lead. He circled the bases with a...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter will have another decision to make on Thursday regarding his lineup. Does he keep Nate McLouth in the leadoff spot against Tampa Bay right-hander Roberto Hernandez or does he go back to Nick Markakis? "It's based on pitchers, but also based on our guys' skills, where they are in the season," Showalter said earlier today. "A lot of it has to do with presenting as good of a challenge as we can not only for the starter, but for the...

Gio Gonzalez finished third in the National League Cy Young voting last season. The Nationals left-hander led the majors with 21 wins, posted a sub-3.00 ERA, worked nearly 200 innings and struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings, best in the NL among starting pitchers. It was a heck of a season, and quite a statement in Gonzalez' first season in D.C. after coming to the Nats in a trade with the Athletics. But as Gonzalez prepares to take the mound tonight for his first start of 2013, where...

Davey Johnson has said for months now that he feels he has two No. 1 catchers. From his perspective, how better to use those two guys than to alternate them on a daily basis, giving them equal playing time? After going with Wilson Ramos behind the plate on opening day, Johnson wrote Kurt Suzuki's name into today's lineup as his starting catcher. Those two will continue to trade off days for the foreseeable future. "That's a tribute because I like them both," Johnson said. "They're both...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Nate McLouth didn't know that he was batting first tonight until told by a reporter before the pregame stretch. He hadn't checked the lineup card hanging in the hallway that leads into the clubhouse. Nick Markakis led off on opening day against Tampa Bay left-hander David Price. McLouth is leading off against Rays right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? "There's multiple guys capable of doing that, of leading off," McLouth said. "He's...